14. Isaac
14
ISAAC
I thought I was tired before, but fuck. I’d need to hit the gym harder if I expected to keep up with Hell Yes Ma’am. My legs had turned to jelly and my arms had the strength of uncooked spaghetti.
Hannah finally gave in and let me order room service, but only because the sun was up, and we would’ve died if we didn’t replenish some of the calories we worked off. I dragged her into the shower with me and rinsed away the stickiness of sweat and the evidence of our dalliance.
Finally, I felt sated.
A week of pent-up sexual tension put me on a hair trigger. My assistant was terrified of me. My driver barely spoke to me. My pilot and flight attendant hid from me once I boarded my jet. I was a miserable son of a bitch.
Until her.
Hannah was engrossed in something on her phone while she sipped on a cup of coffee. I didn’t mind, though. It gave me a chance to study her. To figure out why the hell something in my brain blew like a fuse the minute I laid eyes on her. Sure, she was a great lay, but there was something else there.
She wasn’t easy, that’s for damn sure.
“What are you looking at?” she asked from the balcony, looking up from her phone.
“You.” I chuckled as I crossed the room and joined her out on the chaise lounge.
She was wrapped up in one of the guest robes to ward off the chill of the late fall air. I sat behind her and straddled the lounge, pulling her back against my chest, settling her ass between my legs.
Her hair had dried in different directions, flaring out from where it hung just beneath her jaw. Of course, she had touched up her makeup with the reinforcements she kept in that Mary Poppins bag of hers.
This slightly undone version of her was just as drop-dead gorgeous as the perfect image she felt the need to maintain.
Hannah set her phone aside and laid back against my chest, bringing her mug to her lips and humming something unintelligible.
“What?” I murmured against the shell of her ear. “You don’t believe me?”
“I believe you. I just think there’s something else going on in your head.”
“What happened to no small talk?”
Hannah smiled as she took a sip. “Color me curious.”
“Breaking your own rules already?”
She laughed quietly and looked out at the steel-blue waters that led to the freezing Atlantic. “You bring out my inner bad girl. Besides, I allowed small talk last night, didn’t I?”
I pushed the collar of her robe back, exposing her shoulders and clavicle. She shivered and retreated into my embrace. “I think I like your inner bad girl,” I said, kissing the back of her neck. “You should let her out more often. ”
Hannah shook her head. “No feelings—remember?”
“Not a feeling, just an acknowledgment.”
“Semantics,” she chided.
“Why is that semantics? I can acknowledge that I enjoy you without involving feelings.”
Hannah opened her mouth to say something, but shut it just as fast.
“Tell me.”
She shook her head. “I plead the fifth.”
“Fine,” I appealed. “Tell me about your inner bad girl and why you don’t let her out. I mean, don’t get me wrong—you in those damn skirts and heels is every man’s wet dream, but the other night when you told me you went out with your girls, I couldn’t stop myself from imagining what you wear to go out.”
“I guarantee that I don’t dress like the ladies you see in all the clubs you go to.”
“That’s not a bad thing.”
“I’m not your type, Lawson,” she said, looking up at me, over her shoulder. “Don’t start thinking that I am.”
I stared at her mouth. The way her pink cupid’s bow drew out at the sides into a devilish smirk had my heart beating like a hummingbird.
“I don’t know about that.”
Her eyes dropped to my mouth, and there was a hitch in the gentle rise and fall of her chest. “I think we’re edging dangerously close to feelings territory,” she whispered.
“I think I want to know you, Hannah Jane.”
“You’re thinking with your dick,” she retorted.
I shook my head. “Not this time.”
Hannah’s lips brushed against mine. Her breath trailed along my jaw. I ghosted the pad of my thumb along the pout of her lower lip.
A knock at the door interrupted us .
“Housekeeping!”
Her eyes turned to saucers. “It’s Kristin,” she panicked. “She almost caught me the last time.”
I pecked her lips and swung my leg over the chaise. “I got it. Wait right here.” I padded into the room, closed the balcony door, and pulled the curtains closed. “Just a second,” I called out.
I wrapped a towel low around my waist, hiding my boxers. I unchained the door and opened it just a crack.
A young lady I remembered seeing at Luca’s wedding stood on the other side next to a housekeeping cart. “Good morning, Mr. Lawson,” she smiled. “Mind if I freshen up your room?”
I was going to say yes and let her in, but then I saw Hannah’s purse sitting on the entryway table.
Sure, there were probably thousands like it, but women had an uncanny sixth sense for mischief—especially where friends were concerned. Kristin would catch on, and I didn’t want to spook Hannah. Not when I felt…
I forced that thought away and replaced it with the one feeling I could count on. Nothing. I didn’t feel a damn thing. I did not let myself feel feelings for anyone.
“If I could just get fresh towels, that’s all I need,” I said quietly, glancing over my shoulder, pretending there was someone in the bed who I didn’t want to wake. “Late night. We’re just catching up on some sleep.” I winked.
“Of course.” Kristin smiled as she pulled a stack of towels from the cart. I didn’t open the door any wider, forcing her to pass them through the crack.
I grabbed my wallet from beside Hannah’s purse and pulled out a one-hundred dollar bill. “Appreciate it,” I said, handing her the tip.
Kristin’s eyes widened. “Oh, my goodness, I—I didn’t even clean your room. That’s very generous, but?—”
I wasn’t used to people refusing tips. In the circles I ran in, it was expected, not appreciated. “I insist,” I said, putting the bill in her hand and curling her fingers around it. “Have a nice day.”
The door closed behind me as Hannah slipped in from the balcony. Her face was kissed by the cold air.
I set the towels in the bathroom and stalked toward her. “I have the room for one more night,” I said, settling my hands on her hips.
“I should get going.”
“Where do you have to be, Han?”
She swallowed and rested her head on my chest. I wrapped my arms around her. “Anywhere but here,” she whispered.
“Hannah—”
“I can’t do this, Isaac,” she said, pushing away from me. “I thought I could, but I can’t.”
“Hey,” I said, whirling around to chase after her. “Hold on. What just happened? Five minutes ago?—”
Hannah’s face fell. Her lip quivered, and it made my heart twist. “You… you flew all the way here from New York,” she stammered, running her fingers through her hair.
“Yeah, I did,” I said more calmly than I felt inside. I had never seen her so unhinged. She was falling apart in front of me, and it stole the air right out of my lungs.
“You did it for me,” she choked out. Her eyes welled up with tears.
“Han—what the hell is going on? Right before your friend knocked on the door, things were good—we were good. Talk to me.”
She sniffed and squeezed her eyes shut, turning away from me so I wouldn’t see her cry. “I thought I could do this, but I can’t. I don’t want to have to sneak around. I just—I thought I could try changing who I am, but I can’t.”
And you don’t want to be with me.
I stepped back, gritting my teeth so hard I was sure that I would need to see a dentist after this conversation. “We had a deal. ”
She steeled herself, snatching up her clothes and getting dressed with her back to me. “I hardly see how a judge could preside over our deal . It was a stupid agreement that you have absolutely no proof of.”
“You know, you really need to lay off the Judge Judy, Princess,” I glowered.
She pulled the zipper up her skirt, and I wanted nothing more than to rip the damn thing clean off. Her voice softened. “I’m sorry you wasted your time.”
“Hannah,” I snapped, slamming her back against the wall. She shoved against my chest, but I didn’t budge. “You got spooked because we got interrupted,” I soothed, gently coaxing her into calming down. “So, hooking up at your place of employment probably isn’t the best idea—that’s on me. But Han, I had to see you.”
“I can’t keep this up, Isaac. I’m selling myself short if I do.” Hannah closed her eyes. “You proved your point. I can do no-strings sex and avoid having feelings. But if we keep this up, no matter what we do or don’t do, I’m afraid that I’ll fall anyway.”
“Do you want to fall?” I blurted out.
The shock made her freeze in my arms. “What?”
Why. The. Hell. Did that just come out of my mouth?
“I want to fall for someone safe,” she admitted softly. “You scare me. Being with you is like teetering on the edge of a waterfall. The rush is fun, but I know what will happen if I let it go too far.”
My heart shattered into pieces. I didn’t know how to reconcile how much I wanted her, knowing I could never be what she truly desired.
I knew I was bluffing, but years of boardroom showdowns and tense negotiations meant I was good at never letting them see me sweat. “I know I can’t give you everything you want, but don’t you think you should live a little before you settle down? I won’t let you fall over the edge.”
Hannah looked up at me with big brown eyes that were meant to cripple. “Sneaking around, hiding from Chase and Kristin—they’re not just my friends. They’re family. Hell, I’m spending Thanksgiving with them next week. Hiding from them isn’t living.”
“Fine,” I said. “Then I propose an amendment to our deal.”
Hannah sighed and shook her head. “Isaac, I just told you?—”
“Hear me out,” I begged, backing away now that I was confident she wouldn’t leap over the balcony. “The deal stands, but we add in the extras.”
She laughed nervously. “What?”
“Let me take you out. No feelings. Just sex, but we’ll have the time of our lives. I’ll show you what living’s really like. You do have a passport, right?”
“Isaac,” she groaned. “I don’t know about this. I can’t think straight when I’m around you.”
“I do know. What are you doing after Thanksgiving? Do you have to work weddings and shit?”
She raised her eyebrows and giggled. “Weddings and shit?”
I shrugged. I had a general grasp of what she did for work, but the details eluded me. “Can you get away for a few days?”
She chewed on her lip. “I don’t know.” Hannah huffed and crossed her arms. “This whole thing… It isn’t me. It’s not who I am.”
“Listen to me,” I said as I sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled her to stand between my legs. “Chase your own happiness. Either you’ll find exactly what you were looking for, or you’ll find something better.” I tugged on the waistband of her uptight pencil skirt. “Maybe you should see what happens when you let go. It’s worked pretty well so far.”
Hannah draped her arms loosely around my neck and gave me a reluctant smile. “How did you just convince me to not walk out that door and never look back?”
I chuckled, tugging at her blouse until it came untucked. I liked seeing her messy, imperfect. “I’m not just a pretty face, Princess. I did have to earn some of my millions.”
She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Your pretty face helps, but you should teach me some of your mind games. I’ll help my event bookings go through the roof.”
I laid back on the bed and pulled her on top of me. Hannah squealed as she toppled over.
“Are you really that worried about your friends judging you for having a casual relationship?” I didn’t know her friends aside from Luca and Maddie, but they didn’t strike me as the type to judge anyone.
Hannah rolled so that she was lying against my side. I pulled her closer, sliding my arms around her waist. “Is this the part where we do the small talk?”
Through a hooded gaze, I nodded and brushed my lips over hers. “Yeah.”
She kissed me, slow and gentle. All that fuel for the fire she had inside burned away.
“It’s not just them. I worry about what everyone thinks. I obsess over how I’m perceived. It's...” She sighed. “One of my many faults.”
I propped myself up on my arm and looked at her.
Goddamn, she was a knockout. She could walk around wearing a garbage bag, and people would call it couture.
“At your best, the wrong people will still hate you. At your worst, the people who love you will still think you’re amazing. Fucking own it, Princess.”
Hannah laughed. “You have a way with words, you know that?”
I pulled her in for another kiss. “I convinced you to stay, didn’t I?”